Method of and apparatus for making mattresses



Jan. 2e,-1 2s.- 1,570,848

W. C. LLOYD METHOD OF AND'APPARATUS FOR MAKING MATTRESSES Filed April 23, 1921 2 sheets-sheet 1 Jan. 26 1926..

w. c.- L LO YD METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING MATTHESSES Filed April 25, 1921 "2. Sheets-Sheet 2 jkye/z/or I /V////a/77 6 A Patented Jan. 26, 1926.

. UNITED ST TE r arur 0F F-I E- VJ'ILLIAM G. LLOYD, OF MONTREAL; 'QUEIBEG,- CANADA, 'ASSIGNOR; BY A S- SIGNMENTS, TO' SIMMONS COMPANY," OF KENOSHA, WISCONSIN.

METHOD- OF AND APPARATUS FOR-MAKING- MATTRESSES.

Application filed April. 23, 1921. Seria1.No.- 463,900.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownztha-t I, VILLIAM G. LLOYD,-YEL, citizen of the United States of America, and.

resident of the city of. lVIont-real, in the.

-Province of Quebec andDominoin. of can? ada, have inventedcertain new anduscful Improvements. in Methods of. and Apparatus for Making Mattresses, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This inventionrelates to improvements .in process and apparatus for making mate tresses andrelates particularly, to the manu facture of mattresses from cottonwool or similar fibrous material.

The primary object of the invention is to provide for the distribution of fibre uni formly in a single layer of desired width, thickness and-density and for the automatic introduction of this layer of fibre into a *mattress casing. v c

A further object is to provide for the manufacture of mattresses at a muchhigher rate of speed than is possible by ordinary methods and furthermore for the making 0f mattresses more uniformly than is now possible.

At the present time, mattresses of the type known as felt mattresses are made by a combination of machine, and manual operationsivith the result that the manufacture is a slowand laborious process and a very considerable capital expenditure required as Welles a great deal of factory space occupied. According to existing methods, bales of cotton are passed through an opening and wiilowing machine of. any usual-type,

which. tears up the lumps of cotton foundv in the bale and delivers the. material in av lumpy condition to a Garnett machine, which is ayspecies of. carding machine and WlllCll; further tears apart the cotton and eventually delivers the same in a very thin layer of suitable width. The two machines just referredto are ordinary. textile machines. The

layer of cottonfibre delivered from the'Garnett machine is so tenuous that it will not support more than an inch or-two-ofitsown weight. In other words, the layer has no tensile strength whatever. i this condition is compounded by superpos ing aimmber of such. layers, which are then rolled into large bats and transferred to the mattress making department where-the ccr und layers are super-posed upon one another to build up a loose felt of the de- The material in sired thickness. This operation is performed almost entirely by hand and, When the felt is built up, it is introduced into. a mattress case: until. the'proper. weight is. attained. Thev casing istheii. sewed-l up. and tufted, the felt being worked. around in. the. case by hand duringthe tuftingoperation to obtain as far as possible a uniformdis- I tribution in the case.v .This'. method of procedure as will be readily understood is very slow and theresults. obtainedare far from what is to be desired. It is practically impossible to. obtain uniform weightand elastic ity between the different mattressesv and equally. diflicultto obtain uniformelxsticity and distribution of the felt in the individual mattresses. Furthermore,a largenumber of machinesand a. great-deal of factory space is required to obtaineven a moderate number of. mattresses per day.

Preferably, according to thejinvention asnow practiced, the outputof. a teasing ma chine is deliveredonto a? slowly movin'gbelt or conveyor, in front of a floating condensing roll which holds back theloose fibre dis- 8 charged: from.v the machine until, there is a sufficient accumulation to commence forcing; itselfunder, the roll. The result. is that instead of a thin, tenuous-layer. of, fibre, there is, discharged from. under; the roll. a thick softlayen of fibrexof uniform density and.-

elasticity throughout, whichlayen isadvanced by. the. eonveyorunder: a. beltwhich is. ar ranged; at an angle. to: the. conveyor and which operates. to squeeze or condense the layer. offibre until it has sufficient body, to be. moved edgewise. into'a mattress casing. A mattress casingturned inside. out isplaced on. a pair of fingerswith its closed end pre-- sented to the advancing end of the condensed fibre layer.. The mere; advance of the fibre draws the casing; off. the fingers and turns the sameright side out, sothatan evenly and perfectly filled casing results. As the casing fills, it slidesonto-a scale platform, so that an operator. bywatching the; weights indicated by the scale can regulate thefilling to a nicety and produce mattresses of uniform weight. When a casing is full,- the fibre therein is torn or out off from the advancing layer and. a fresh casing prethe open end. The closed mattress may then be transferred to a tufting table and the manufacture completed in the usual manner. Owing to the uniform consistency of the fibre and the automatic manner in which it is introduced into the casing, each casing is filled clear to its edges with a uniform layer of fibre, so that no distribution is required in the tufting operation, wherefore the tufting may be effected more quickly and perfectly than heretofore.

In the drawings which illustrate the 1n vention Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a machine for making mattresses according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the squeezing portion of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33, F igure 2.

Fig. 4; is a plan view of the mattress casing holder.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the mattress casing holder.

Fig. 6 is a cross section on the line 66, Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the draw ings, 11 designates a hopper or chute through which fibrous material, such as cotton, is delivered from an opener to a feeding machine 12. This machine delivers the fibre in a more or less opened and partly cleaned condition to a teasing machine 13, which completes the operation of tearing apart the r lumps of cotton and throwing out stems,

hulls, sand, etc., so that the fibre is uniformly clean and free from lumps. A floating roll 12 may be disposed between the machines 12 and 13 to distribute the fibre uniformly to the teasing machine 13 and to ensure that the fibre enters the teasing machine in a sufiiciently dense condition to enable the machine to operate properly. The fibre is delivered from the teasing machine on to one end of a slowly moving endless conveyor 1 1- constructed preferably of transversely extending wooden slats 15 connected together in any suitable manner to form a wide endless belt. This conveyor passes over rolls 16, 17 located at opposite ends of a frame 18 and the upper layer of the conveyor between the rolls 16, 17 is supported on guides or skids 19, so that the conveyor forms between the rolls a rigid moving ta ble. The slats 15 are preferably arranged so as to be in contact in the upper part of the conveyor and form what is for all practical purposes a continuous unbroken surface. The lower portion of the conveyor in whole or in part may be supported by skids or guides 20. Side boards 21 are provided at opposite sides of the machine above the conveyor and substantially in contact with the upper surface thereof, so that these side boards and the upper part of the conveyor form between them a comparatively wide and shallowtrough into one end of which fibre is delivered directly from the teasing machine.

At the entrance end of the trough, a hood 22 is provided thereover having a suction flue 23 leading therefrom for the purpose of carrying away dust and lint to the hopper 11. This flue communicates with the interior of a large perforated drum 23 located under the hood and revolving about a normally stationary but adjustable axis. The lower part of this roll moves in a-direction contrary to the movement of the conveyor 15 and operates to hold back the fibre and also to expose the fibre through the whole width of the machine to the air suction through the flue 23, so that dust is efi'ectually removed. A heavy roll 24 is disposed transversely of the conveyor under the hood 22, the mounting of this roll being such that it may float or ride upon the conveyor or material transported by the conveyor. Any

suitable form of driving mechanism 25 is provided for the-rolls 23 and 24 to drive the same in a direction contrary to the movement of the conveyor and at a suitable speed. The surface speed of the roll 24: is preferably greater than the surface speed of the conveyor so that it exerts an ironing or smoothing action on the fibre as well as a compressing action. Between the entrance end of the conveyor and the rolls 24, a pair of wings 25 are hinged to the side boards at their ends adjacent the entrance and are provided with adjustable means 26 for swinging them inwardly over the conveyor, as shown in Figure 3, so as to contract in width the layer of fibre passing from the teasing machine to the roll 24. Between the roll 2 and the discharge end of the conveyor a second pair of similarly disposed wings 27 are provided having adjusting means. 28.

Above the discharge end of the conveyor, an endless belt 29 is mounted on rollers 30, one at least of which is journalled in a subframe 31 pivotally or hingedly mounted on the frame 18 for example on the shaft 30 of the rear roller 30, so as to swing in a vertical direction toward or away from the conveyor 1%. This belt 29 is preferably of a construction similar to the conveyor and is so disposed that its lower portion slopes downwardly toward the discharge end of the conveyor 14. The amount of slope on the belt 29 and the distance between its lower end and the discharge end of the conveyor may be regulated by any suitable means 32 arranged to regulate the inclination of the sub-frame 31 carrying the belt. The belt 29 is provided with any suitable driving means 33 designed preferably to keep the belt moving at the same surface speed as the conveyor.

At the discharge end "of the conveyor, braekets'il l are, provided .on the-frame 18 and carry threaded guides 35 upon which a pair of throat plates 36 are mounted. These throat plates'lie parallel with the side boards 21 and are located betweenthe side boards and the swinging ends of the. wings27, as shown in Figure 3. The position of the throat plates may be adjustedto correspond w'ith'the'position of the wings by rotating the threaded guide with which the throat plates engage in the manner of nuts.

A short'distance from the discharge "end of the conveyor a stand 37 is provided carrying a pivoted frame 38 includinga pairof case holding fingers 39, which'are merely smooth flat plates mounted at one end inthe frame 38, and ajpair of spaced parallel rods 3.8 extending between the fingers and with the fingers defining a rectangular opening over which the closed end of a casing may be stretched. These plates are adjustable toward and away from one another either by adjusting means of their own or bytheadjusting mgeans ofthe throat plates 36. The frame carrying these fingers is pivotally mounted so that the fingers may be swung to the vertical position shown in Figure 1 to facilitate the'application of an empty mattress case thereto and may then be swung to horizontalposition to-present the closed end of the casing in alignment with the space between the conveyor and the belt 29 and the throat plates. I

A weighing scale 40 is provided in alignment with the machine, having the platform 41 thereof positioned toreceive a mattress as the same is filled. "A truck 42 is provided which may be placed in alignment with the scale platform to facilitate the transfer of a mattress from. the platform to the truck. This truck may then'be run past a sewing machine 43 conveniently located and specially adapted for sewing up mattress casings. The best results will be obtained if the truck is guided by means of iails 41 k upon which it runs,'s0 that it may always come into the same relation with the scale platform and sewing machine.

The operation of the machine and the carrying out of the process are extremely simple and maybe readily understood. The cotton or other material passes through the machines 12 and 13 and is discharged onto the conveyor in a completely opened and very flulfy condition. The conveyor transports this toward the roll 24, which if the conveyor is empty is resting on or very close to the conveyor. The roll 24, which has a higher surface speed than the conveyor throws the fibre back toward the teasing machine ns fast as the conveyor advances it,

so that in a short tiinea considerable quantilv of fibre collects under the hood 22.

This accumulation of fibre gradually forces itself nnderthe r'oll lifting the same and advances with the conveyor in a layer of libreof uniform consistency andof suitable thickness for the manufacture of mattresses.

The width of the layer is regulated by means of the wings 25 and 27' and the thickness thereof is regulated by the weight and surface speed of the floating roll 24. p The conveyor eventually carries the layer of fibre under the elevated end of the belt 29 and, as this belt slopes down toward the discharge end of the conveyor and travels at substantially the samesurface speed, it is evident that thefibre will lac-squeezed together orcondensed by the time iteme-rges from between "the conveyor and b'elt. The amount of"sq=ueezingand in a'measure the thickness and hardnessxof' the mattress to. be made may be regulated byadjus'ting the distance between the'conveyor and belt. The felted fibre passes between the throat plates 36 and comes in contact withthe closed end the weight indicated by the scale, the operator can determine with surprising accuracy whether the mattress ,Wlll. be over orunder weight. The Weight of the mattress may be most easily regulated by controlling the speed with which-the casing is turned inside out and over the fingers 39. -Thus,'ifa mat-- tress shows indication of being under weight, a suitable fresistancemay lie/offered to the slipping of the casingoverthe fingers 39, with the result that the movement of the casing will be imlpeded while the movement of the felt eontinuesunabated. Conversely, if the mattress shows indication of being overweight, the movement of the casing over the fingers will be slightly expedited, so that there will be less tendency for the felt to pack in. The regulation of the casing movement may be effected by hand or by moving the fingers toward or away from one another, so as to be either a tight or a loose fit in the casing as may be desired. As soon as the casing is filled, the fibre therein is separated from the advancing layer of fibre and the mattress slid from the scale platform to the truck 42. The separation of the mattress from the body of fibre is -auto truck to a tufting table located at any suit able distance from the machine and the truck returned to position in line with the scale platform. As soon as one mattress casing is completely filled and separated from the fibre layer, the fingers 39 are swung to vertical position and a fresh casing placed over them and the fingers then returned to horizontal position. The proc-- ess then continues as already described.

According to this invention and with the use of a single machine as illustrated, four operators can produce approximately fifty mattresses per hour, whereas under existing conditions, as described in the forepart of this specification, two opening and willowing machines and fifteen Garnett machines. three filling machines and eighteen operators are required to produce the same number of mattresses hourly. It will therefore be evident that mattresses may be produced more quickly and cheaply according to this invention and it is obvious that, as the condensing or packing of the fibre is mechanical, the mattresses will be of more uniform thickness and elasticity than is obtainable by existing methods.

It must be understood that the mattress filling made according to this invention entirely different from what is known in the trade as felt. Felt, in the trade, is a body composed of a series of superposed thin sheets of fibre in which the individual fibres are in somewhat orderly arrangement, with the result that the felt is comparatively dense and inelastic. The filling produced according to this invention is in a single layer and the fibres are not in any sense in orderly arrangement, with the result that the sheet of filling is not dense but is very light and fiuify and extremely elastic. Therefore, the filling must not be confused with felt.

While the filling is preferably introduced into the casing as and at the point of making, it will. be understood that the filling may be separated into portions of mattress size and introduced into casings at a re mote point.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a mattress making machine, a framework, an endless conveyor therein, side boards forming with the upper surface of the conveyor a trough, and a floating roll disposed transversely of said trough above the conveyor and adjacent the inlet end of the trough.

2. In combination with a device according to claim 1, a hood covering the inlet end of the trough and the floating roll therein.

3. In combination with a device according to claim 1, means for revolving said floating roll at higher surface speed than the conveyor and in the opposite direction.

4. In combination with a device according to claim 1, wings hingedly attached to the side boards at the ends thereof adjacent the inlet of the trough, and means for adjusting said wings over the top of the conveyor at an angle to the direction of movement thereof.

5. In combination with a device accordin to claim 1 means for condensing a layer OI material on the conveyor in width and thickness.

6. In a mattress making machine, a fibre feeding means and a fibre teasing means, the former being arranged to discharge directly into the latter, an endless conveyor positioned to receive material discharged from the teasing means and to convey the same away from the teasing means, and yielding means for retarding movement of material to said conveyor and producing an accumulation of material between said means and the teasing means, and a mounting for said retarding means permitting vertical movement thereof after a sufficient accumu lation of material to give passage to said material.

7. In combination in a single machine for making mattresses, a moving conveyor, means for teasing and cleaning fibre and depositing the fibre on said conveyor as it moves, means for retarding movement of fibre on said conveyor for regulatii'ig the thickness of a layer of fibre, and means for compressing the layer of fibre on the con veyor.

8. In a mattress making machine, a framework, an endless conveyor therein, a perforated roll above the conveyor, and means driving said roll in a direct-ion con trary to the conveyor.

9. In combination with a device according to claim 8, suction means arranged to withdraw air, dust and lint from within the roll.

it). In combination with a device according to claim 8, a second roll arrangi'sl to float on material on the conveyor.

11. In combination with a device according to claim 8, a second roll arranged to fioat on material on the conveyor, and means for driving said roll at a higher surface speed than the speed of the conveyor.

12. In combination with a device according to claim 8, a hood over the conveyor and over said perforated roll, a second roll under said hood parallel with the first and adapted to float on material on the conveyor, and means for driving said second roll.

18. A continuous process'of making mattresses which comprises, opening, cleaning and teasing fibrous material, depositing the cleaned and opened fibre in a continuous manner on a n'ioving conveyor, forming the fibre in a single layer of thickness sufficient for a complete mattress filling by retarding movement of fibre on the conveyor.

l t. A continuous process of making mattresses, which comprises opening, cleaning and teasing fibrous material, depositing the cleaned and opened fibre in a continuous manner on a moving conveyor, forming the fibre in a single layer of thickness suflicient for a complete mattress filling by retarding movement of fibre on the conveyor, and compressing the layer into a ribbon of substantially mattress thickness and Width.

15. A process of making a series of mattress fillings of density uniform throughout each filling and throughout theseries;

which comprises depositing cleaned and teased libre at a uniform rate on a moving conveyor, compressing the material While in movement directly into a single ribbon of proper Width and thickness for mattress fillings and separating the ribbon into portions of mattress length.

16. A process of making mattress fillings which comprises depositing suitable treated fibre and advancing the deposited fibre resistance, whereby the deposit is increased in thickness and density until capable of overcoming the resistance, and separating the advancing dense'mass into portions of mattress size.

17. A filling for mattresses being a unit of treated fibre loosely felted, by compression flatwise and edgeWise to substantially mattress Width and thickness, designed for separating into portions of mattress length.

18. A process of making a mattress filling in one operation, which comprises depositing loose fibrous material in a layer of approxii ately uniform thickness and advancing the layer against resistance thereby to thicken the same, and compressing the thickened fibre layer fiatwise and edgewise thereby to form a loosely felted unit of mattress width and thickness.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

W'ILLIAM C. LLOYD. 

